Craig Milligan, 47, of Dumfries, used several aliases – including those of two dead men – to fraudulently open accounts and obtain credit cards.
Prosecutors at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) proved how Milligan used specialist equipment hidden in his home to create the false identities.
Financial experts who combed through the accounts found funds totalling £1,092,998.04 had been paid in between May 2012 and January 2025.
Milligan was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow after he pleaded guilty to charges of identity theft and being involved in a fraudulent scheme.
Sineidin Corrins, Procurator Fiscal at COPFS, said:
“Craig Milligan has been brought to justice for a calculated and long-running fraud.
“He callously stole personal and confidential information and used this to fraudulently obtain bank accounts and credit.
“This case has involved extensive financial enquiries and underlines that no matter how complex the fraud, we will investigate it alongside partners and bring offenders to justice.”
Milligan’s illicit scheme began to unravel when he was stopped in his car by police officers in October 2024 and provided a driving licence in the name of Daniel Pindell.
Officers suspected the information was false and a subsequent investigation revealed the identity belonged to a man from Florida who had died in 2009.
Further enquiries on the voters roll and electoral registers then revealed property and financial links from Mr Pindel to another man, Thomas Warren, from Limerick in Ireland who had died in Dallas in 2010.
Both men had numerous bank accounts containing large sums of money.
A police search of Milligan’s home in January 2025 found identification documents and bank cards in the name of Thomas Warren hidden between the floor and a bedside unit, alongside £10,000 in cash.
Elsewhere they discovered paperwork and a driving licence in the name of Daniel Pindell, as well as items used to create false identities.
These included a heat gun, blank identity cards, a laminator and press machine.
Other documents related to eight other fraudulent identities.
A financial investigator later established that Milligan held seven bank cards and six credit cards with false identities.
Following his arrest, the accused identified himself to police as Craig Milligan.
He will now be subject to confiscation action under Proceeds of Crime legislation to recover monies obtained illegally.